


Familiar Patterns

by Dragonfruiteen



Series: Falling Into Place [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Dealing with Emotions, Fighting, Injury, Minor Character Death, Spoiler: they aren't very good at it, Violence, battles for the fate of one particular world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2020-10-14 19:43:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20606264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonfruiteen/pseuds/Dragonfruiteen
Summary: Dream is back home and he and Nightmare both want to pretend everything that went on while he was sick never happened. But how can they pretend nothing's changed, when it feels like everything has?





	1. Chapter 1

It had been three weeks since Dream's return to the Multiverse as a whole, and things had been suspiciously peaceful.

Oh, Error was still causing all kinds of trouble, of course, and Fresh would pop up without warning to bring his own special brand of chaos, but Nightmare and his minions had been completely silent. 

At first Dream thought they were hatching some new plan for power. It wasn't at all uncommon for attacks to stop for a week or two while Nightmare brainstormed. But for as long as Dream could remember, he had never been this quiet for this long. At the very least someone should have made a supply raid by now. 

If this had happened before Dream got sick he would only have been grateful for the break from fighting. But now, as much as he tried to act like nothing had changed, he couldn't help being worried. Had something happened? He couldn't think of what might cause his brother to go inactive, but there had to be a reason for it. 

His friends were just as puzzled as he was when Dream brought it up, but they didn't share his concern. Ink was focused on keeping Error at bay, as usual, and Blue was dealing with his own problems in Underswap. Both of them were more glad than anything else at the unusual peace, since it allowed them to take care of their own issues without being called away to fight at any moment. 

Dream tried to do some investigating, but quickly gave up. Nightmare's AU was sealed off from outsiders and he would know if Dream tried to break or sneak in. And there was no way for anyone else to know what was going on, either. Reaper could have gotten in, but Dream didn't want to track him down and ask. The godly Sans always put Dream ill at ease, and that was only partly because he could almost certainly kill the guardian with one touch. They hadn't tested it, for obvious reasons. Fresh also had the ability to bypass locks, like Reaper, but although Dream thought about asking, of course the parasite was nowhere to be found the one time Dream actually wanted him. 

All he could do was wait, and wait he did. In the meantime he told Blue and Ink about what had happened while he was a captive in Nightmare's castle. Blue was excited to hear how kind Nightmare had been at times, and kept going off on tangents about how maybe they really could change him for good now that they knew he wasn't all bad. Ink actually paid attention for once, without any of his usual snarky commentary, which was a pleasant surprise. 

Although Dream tried not to, he kept mulling over what had happened when he was alone. He had known Nightmare wasn't completely evil for a long time. The apples hadn't taken over, like Dream used to believe. It was still his brother, just twisted by power and hatred. 

But perhaps, not so twisted as he had once thought. 

Dream tried not to think about it too much. Although he desperately wished he could bring his brother back to him, he knew it wouldn't happen. Nightmare had helped him, yes. But helping Dream once and stopping his quest for absolute power were two very different things. It wasn't going to happen, and Dream was only hurting himself by getting his hopes up.

Nightmare wasn't gone, no. But he was lost to Dream. 

It had been three weeks since Dream had left and Nightmare had been in one of his moods ever since.

Whenever he tried to plan the next attack, his thoughts inevitably turned to how Dream would undoubtedly show up to fight him. 

Nightmare still remembered how small and fragile Dream had looked, curled up in a too-big bed, shaking from fever and crying out in his sleep. And he remembered how he had looked just before he'd left, tears in his eyes as he embraced the one who never thought he would hug his brother again. 

Nightmare was cold, cruel, and calculated. He had to be, to torture entire worlds in the way he did. But he had soft spots. His boys were one. Error, although he was prickly and stubborn and generally a brat, was another. 

And although he did his best to deny it, he was developing a soft spot for Dream now, too. Could he really go back to fighting his brother like before? Could he pretend it had all had never happened? 

He didn't know.

He was scared- yes, _scared-_ to try and attack somewhere. He didn't know what he would do if Dream showed up. He didn't know if he would be able to fight him. And he knew that if he didn't fight, if he fled the moment Dream appeared instead of staying to fight, then they could never go back. 

So he sat at his desk with the lights out for hours at a time, his mind going in circles but always returning to the same point. 

He tried to reason with himself. When Dream showed up, he was sure to attack. It would make it easier to fight if it was in self defense. All this damn doubts floating around his mind would vanish the moment he tasted battle, he was sure of it. 

Besides, they couldn't hide here forever. Supplies were already starting to run low, as Killer had politely informed him that morning. They would have to raid an AU...but…

If they showed up after three weeks just to steal supplies and nothing else, Dream would start wondering. No, Nightmare had to do something big, something that justified all this time being quiet. 

But what? 

Perhaps they should attack a larger AU...no, the gang wasn't ready for that yet. What if they attacked Underswap, the one where the Blueberry lived? They'd never targeted a place Dream was so invested in, maybe it would shake the guardian badly enough that Nightmare could take the upper hand ...but they would be at a disadvantage, too, fighting on their enemy's home ground.

He thought of and discarded a dozen more ideas after that. Too difficult, not big enough, already tried that. He let out a frustrated growl and stood up, pacing around the room.

Surely there had to be something, something that would prove once and for all Nightmare was not to be messed or trifled with, and certainly not underestimated. He just had to think a little harder. Maybe if they-

Two sharp knocks at the door sent his carefully crafted thoughts scattering every which way. 

"What is it?" Nightmare snapped, irritated at the intrusion. Killer cautiously poked his head in. 

"Dust and Horror were wrestling and Dust fell down the stairs and broke his leg. We've patched it up the best we can, but I don't know how long it'll take to heal without some healing food," Killer said. He was being cautious, not coming into the room any further, and poised to jump away at a moment's notice. 

Nightmare felt a pang of guilt as he realized Killer was nervous he might be falling back into old habits. He'd been with Nightmare the longest and he'd seen Nightmare at his worst, before he was as stable as he was now. He hadn't thrown a fit like that for a long time, but memories didn't fade as quickly as bruises.

Nightmare sighed and rubbed at his temple, reminding himself that he needed to stay calm. "Try to keep him off his feet," he ordered. "We'll get more supplies soon. I'm working on it now." 

Killer relaxed a little when it became obvious his boss wasn't about to start throwing things. No one else would have noticed the way his posture became just a little less stiff, his eyes a little less nervous, but Nightmare did. "Will do," Killer said. "Permission to duct tape him to a chair if necessary?" 

"Permission granted." Nightmare couldn't help a small smile. Dust had better behave himself. Killer was good with a rope, but he was even better with duct tape.

Killer left and Nightmare sat back down at his desk. He stared at the wooden surface for a while, idly tracing the swirling grain with his phalanges.

He wouldn't try and force an idea. Brainstorming was good and all, but his best plans always came to him when he least expected it. 

And any thoughts of his brother were shut out as soon as they appeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! I was hoping to get this out a lot sooner, but I had to rewrite this chapter so many times to try and find something I was happy with. But the boys are back!
> 
> I'm hoping to update once a week, although if I can I'd like to update more often. My schedule is rather hectic, so we'll see how it goes.
> 
> And finally, I would like to note that this is NOT a Dreammare fic. I think there was a little confusion, so just to clarify, Dream and Nightmare do not and will not have romantic feelings for each other. Sorry if that disappoints anybody, but I just want to make that clear.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmare has a plan.

Nightmare stood with his hands behind his back as he stared down the men gathered in his throne room. 

Horror was slouching and appeared to be falling asleep, but his axe was sharp and his single eyelight gleamed with excitement. It was clear he was eager for a fight. 

On his right stood Dust. The hooded skeleton was fidgeting impatiently, but the moment Nightmare looked his way he straightened and stood at attention. 

After Dust was Cross, who stood with perfect posture and nodded respectfully when Nightmare met his gaze. His weapon was nowhere in sight, but Nightmare knew it would be in perfect battle condition. 

Last but certainly not least was Killer. He was grinning lazily and toying with a knife, running his finger along the edge. Nightmare quirked a brow and he winked, then tossed his knife up in the air. It spun once, twice, three times, then plunged downwards. Killer caught it blade-first, twirled it like a baton, then bowed and offered the weapon to Nightmare. 

Nightmare rolled his eye and scoffed. "Show-off," he muttered with a sneer, but there was no venom in his words. Killer's grin widened.

Nightmare cast his gaze over the group once more, then cleared his throat. "I'll go over the plan once more," he said, "so listen carefully." 

"Dust, Horror, you take the lead. Your goal is lead us to the Amalgamates. They should be chained outside the palace. Once you've located them, kill or disable any guards and break them loose. Then get out of the way. The Amalgamates will either eat you or trample you, and I'd rather not find out which." 

"Cross, Killer, you're running flank. Your goal is to bring as much of the conflict as possible your way. Be loud, be aggressive, let everyone know where you are. Remember, this is Underfell. _Everyone_ is looking for a fight." 

"I will follow over the rooftops, as usual. I'll keep anyone from sneaking up behind you, and from my superior vantage point I'll be able to keep an eye on things and make sure everything is going to plan. Once the Amalgamates are free I'll collect you and bring you to a safer area, where you can watch without the risk of being killed. As I'm sure you all know, the Amalgamates cannot be killed or even hurt, so any encounter with one is doomed from the beginning. Any questions?"

Cross raised his hand. Nightmare nodded at him. "Why should we free the Amalgamates? We can cause just as much negativity as they could, and they pose a threat to us as well as the targets."

"Good question," Nightmare said. "You're correct in saying they are a threat to us. However, the citizens of this world already fear the Amalgamates. They know how dangerous they are, they know they can't be killed. They live in constant dread of them getting free. It is, literally, their worst nightmare. We might be able to inspire similar levels of terror, but it will take both more work and more time. With this plan, we can sit back and let the Amalgamates do the work for us."

The nightmares grinned one by one as they realized the cleverness of the plot. It was at times like this when they really appreciated working for Nightmare. Just when they thought they'd seen it all, he thought up something completely new. 

Nightmare smirked. They liked the plan. Good. He had been a little worried they wouldn't like standing idle and just watching, but that didn't seem to be an issue.

"Just remember to stay out of the way once they're loose," he warned. "It will take some time for me to get you all. Feel free to start a few fires while you wait. Loot the shops, break some windows, I don't care. Just don't get trampled. I've put a lot of time and energy into you all, and at this point you'd be a pain to replace."

"Aw, you do love us after all," Dust cooed, placing a hand over his chest. "I was starting to worry you didn't care." Next to him, Killer rolled his eyes, although no one could tell due to his lack of eyelights. Cross elbowed him anyway.

"Any other questions?" Nightmare asked. When no one said anything, his smile widened and he wrapped a tentacle around each of their wrists. "Then let's go." 

Phase one went smoothly. Killer and Cross hacked their way through the confused and angry masses, serving as a distraction that attracted most, if not all, of the more aggressive monsters. Dust and Horror ran through mostly empty streets and stopped to fight only if someone directly attacked them. Nightmare, true to his word, followed from above and kept an eye on everyone. 

And as it happened, someone was keeping an eye on him as well. 

A crackling blue spear split the stone at Nightmare's feet and stood there quivering. He stared at the weapon a moment before letting his gaze drift up to its owner as she emerged from the shadows. 

The black spines on her armor rattled against each other quietly. Her single yellow eye blazed with repressed fury. 

"Who the hell do you think you are?" she growled. She clenched her fists around a pair of glowing blue spears. "Call off your minions, now. Or else I'll throw you and them to the dogs as chew toys. They like a nice bone from time to time." 

She was angry, incredibly angry, but also confident. She wasn't afraid of Nightmare. That she might lose hadn't even occurred to her. 

Her lack of fear irked Nightmare. It was why he disliked Undyne-types as much as he admired them. They were so brave, even when there was no chance of victory. 

"What makes you think I have any control over them?" Nightmare asked casually, as though they were old friends catching up over dinner. Undyne hissed, fins quivering. 

"Because I have never seen anyone like you around, and I would remember a filthy oilslick like you," she spat, stepping closer. "Because I've been watching you watch them with that stupid grin on your ugly mug. Because you're just like **Asgore**, standing back and letting others do the dirty work for you. **Now tell them to stand down**." 

Nightmare pretended to consider it. Undyne's heated glare grew increasingly agitated the longer the silence stretched on.

"No, I don't think I will," Nightmare said finally. "Now, I'm in a good mood, so I'll allow you to live. Run along now and find some bunnies to save, that's a good fish." 

"Bastard!" Undyne screeched and he felt her magic flare. Dozens of spears blazed into existence around her and hurled themselves at Nightmare. He dodged each one of the deadly projectiles with practiced ease.

It quickly became clear that attacking from a distance was useless. Nightmare was fast, and the few spears he couldn't dodge he simply swatted aside with his tentacles. Undyne snarled and crouched. Nightmare smirked.

She flew at him with the fury of ten wolves, twin spears slashing and stabbing. Nightmare danced away from the first flurry of blows and lashed out with a tendril. She recoiled from the blow and flung a spear at his head. He caught it out of the air and snapped it in half, then dropped it. The two halves fizzled into nothing before they hit the ground. 

"Is that all you've got?" Nightmare wondered with a wicked grin. "A handful of spears and a loud voice. Tsk, I expected better from you, my dear captain."

Murderous intent came off her in waves, and while the intent was unpleasant to feel, her rage and growing fear was not. He drank in every drop of the pulsing emotions overflowing from her soul. 

"What kind of game are you playing?" Undyne growled. "Attacking the capitol? The king will be furious. He'll kill you and your family, and any one else you've ever so much as spoken to. No monster is enough of a fool to want that!"

"Darling, the only fool I see here is you," he purred. "Why should I care about your king? He's a coward, a weasel who thinks he's a lion. And you, my poor minnow, are stupid enough to believe the illusion. Wouldn't things be better off if you just killed him and took his place? Put an end to-"

"**Shut up**."

Her spear snapped in her grip. Her single eye flashed with pure, righteous fury and her bootsteps cracked the damaged stone as she advanced on Nightmare. 

"I would NEVER betray my king!" she spat. "He's not perfect, but no one is! He's our rightful ruler, and I'll always defend him and the Underground both from punks like you!"

Nightmare shrugged. "Have it your way. I'm only offering a little friendly advice."

"Friendly, my ass-" Undyne started to hiss, but she froze as a bloodcurdling howl split the air.

Multiple tormented voices twisted together in a single hellish sound, baying and yapping with pain and fury. It was a sound that should never have existed. The city went silent, every ear straining towards the source of the sound, countless voices whispering hushed prayers that it wasn't true. 

It howled again, and a cacophony of other, equally horrible, noises joined it. 

Undyne paled. "The beasts," she whispered, horrified. "They can't be loose. They can't. Who would-" 

The realization hit her and she stared at Nightmare. His slowly widening grin was all the answer she needed. 

"HOW COULD YOU?!" she screamed as a hundred spears formed around her. "YOU'VE KILLED US ALL!"

Nightmare laughed. "I've killed you all before, and I'll do so again. Don't worry, you'll come back. Probably."

He teleported away, leaving a very confused, extremely distressed Undyne behind. 

The real fun had just begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *deep breath* ooookay, I did not intend for this to take so long, heck. 
> 
> So, shortly after I published the first chapter, I learned some things about Dreamtale that would have heavily affected how I handled the characters in Fever Dreams had I known them at the time. I spent much longer than I probably should have trying to decide if I should rewrite the story, keep going and just ignore the new stuff, or keep going and try to work the new stuff in somehow. I even considered just dropping this story entirely, but... I really didn't want to do that. I've got a lot planned, and I'm excited to write more of Falling Into Place. 
> 
> Anyway, after a lot of going back and forth and some actual writing, I've decided to just keep going more or less with what I had planned, character-wise. I can't promise frequent updates- there's a lot of outside circumstances that affect what and when I can write- but this story has certainly not been abandoned. If you've stuck around this long, then thank you! And if you're a new reader, then thank you as well!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dream does _not_ have a plan.

Dream wasn't sure whether to cry, scream, or just quietly accept his fate.

_Four weeks_ of nothing. No raids, no vague threats, not a single supply run. Dream was way past worried and very close to giving in and asking the Reaper for help to check in on his brother's world. 

And now he was in Underfell, slipping on dust-covered streets and surrounded by terrified screaming. Every so often he caught glimpses of a nightmare, Dust or Cross or Killer, vanishing around a corner, but unlike every single other time he could remember they never stopped to fight. They were actively avoiding him.

The street erupted into flames and he yelped, ducking down a side alley. A moment later the flames died and he peeked out to see a Vulkin running down the street as quickly as its tiny legs could carry it. A shadow swooped overhead and the monster screamed and went faster. A garbled shriek split the air and Reaper Bird pounced on the little monster from above. The pincer-like beak struck once, twice, and then the Vulkin was only another pile of dust.

The Amalgamate let out a victorious cry and scattered the dust with their feet. Dream slowly took a step back, being careful not to make a sound, and yet they tensed and looked straight at him. 

They shrieked and charged with a gaping, hungry beak and massive eyes burning with rage. Several voices erupted from their throat and although Dream couldn't make out the words, he understood the underlying emotions _very_ well. 

His hand shot up and a wall of bones went up with it. The Amalgamate tore through the barrier in a matter of seconds, but it bought just enough time for Dream to crank up his aura. The creature slowed, looking confused, then stopped just before they would have trampled the guardian. They turned their head to one side and studied Dream, blinking and opening and closing their beak. The next sound they made was just as unintelligible as before, but not nearly as aggressive. 

Dream slowly released his breath. Generally the Amalgamates weren't violent or even troublesome, and any accidents were _usually_ because they didn't realize they were actually hurting someone. But Fell verses twisted even the most gentle monsters into hard-hearted killers, and the Amalgamates weren't unaltered.

He frowned. What were they doing out and about? Very, very few worlds had the Amalgamates just roaming free around the Underground. Given how they had killed that Vulkin, it seemed likely that this was Nightmare's doings. Suddenly he was very glad he hadn't stopped to get Blue. They usually separated to cover more ground, and if the swap had run into an Amalgamate on his own… he was a good fighter, but he wasn't _that_ good. 

Reaper Bird seemed to be singing to themself now, rocking gently back and forth on clawed feet. Dream gingerly patted their...shoulder? and it let out a happy burble. 

"Don't worry, buddy," he said soothingly. "Just stick with me, okay? Let's go find your friends. At least, I hope they're still your friends in this world."

Reaper Bird bobbed their head and Dream decided the gesture was a nod. He took off down the street at a jog, and when he glanced over his shoulder he was glad to see that Reaper Bird was happy to follow. 

With an Amalgam escort, everyone was quick to get out of Dream's way. He felt bad for scaring them, but it _was_ nice not to have to worry about getting attacked-

A swarm of fly-shaped bullets appeared around Dream and it was due to his many years of experience that he miraculously managed to dodge each one, his body reacting before his mind had even recognized the threat. 

Reaper Bird said something. They seemed impressed. Dream huffed and started running faster. Froggits were fast but lacked stamina, and after an attack that big it would take them a few moments to form another one. Dream figured he had plenty of time to get out of range, but he didn't know where his attacker was and it was best not to risk a repeat. 

The next Amalgamate he found was Mrs. Snowdrake. She was surrounded by a mixture of dust and snow and for some reason, frozen vegetables. Just like Reaper Bird, when she saw Dream she attacked. And just like Reaper Bird, his aura quickly calmed her. 

Dream tried not to look at the dust frozen to her feathers as she pressed close to him. "Snn….Snowwwwwwwy?" she asked plaintively. "Snow…..y…?" 

"I'm sure he's fine, ma'am," Dream lied. He had no way of knowing if Snowy was okay or not. This was Fell, after all, and even with the laws protecting children there were no guarantees. But it was much kinder to let Mrs. Snowdrake believe her child was perfectly okay, since it wasn't like she would be getting to Snowdin to see for herself any time soon. 

"Snnno….wyyy?" she repeated, blinking up at Dream, but she seemed appeased. She seemed to notice the dust on her dripping feathers and started picking at it in a halfhearted attempt to get it off. Reaper Bird poked their head down and tried to help, scraping away dust and snow with their beak. Dream quickly got out from in between them before he became covered in the stuff as well. 

He started to move on, but it quickly became apparent that the two Amalgamates weren't following, too busy cleaning off Mrs. Snowdrake. Dream sighed. "Guys, come on. Please, I'm a little pressed for time." Reaper Bird glanced up and said something, sounding curious. "Yes, that's right. Come on," Dream said, gesturing ahead of them. "We gotta go." 

Reaper Bird said something else and Mrs. Snowdrake slowly nodded. Then they resumed following a very relieved Dream. 

Lemon Bread was just the same. They attacked, then calmed down once they got close enough to be influenced by his aura. After they enthusiastically greeted Dream, the three Amalgamates spent several minutes chattering at one another in words Dream simply couldn't understand. 

Dream had just gotten them moving again when Mrs. Snowdrake became distracted staring at a window display and Dream didn't notice until they were halfway down the street. He had to double back and get her, and of course while he was doing that, Reaper Bird managed to get on top of a streetlight and refused to come down. 

He finally had to tear down the streetlight to get them down, which prompted the other two Amalgamates to begin wrecking things. By the time Dream had them calmed down, all together, and on the move again, four streetlamps, two houses, a trashcan, and a good section of the road itself were all completely destroyed. 

This whole time he hadn't seen any of the nightmares, or their boss. Normally, Nightmare would have shown up by now to stop Dream from fixing things. Of course, literally _nothing_ about this raid was normal, so why was he even surprised? 

"Good question," Dream grumbled to himself, promoting a confused inquiry from Reaper Bird and several concerned pokes from Lemon Bread, while Mrs. Snowdrake took the opportunity to wrap her wings around him again. 

"No, sorry, just talking to myself," Dream explained as he carefully extracted himself from Mrs. Snowdrake's grip. He had nothing against hugs, but she was covered in dust, despite her and Reaper Bird's best efforts, and also _extremely_ cold. Plus, y'know, trying to save the world kinda meant there wasn't much time for hugs. 

The only warning was a single scream quickly cut short and then Endogeny was right on top of them. If it weren't for the other Amalgamates, Dream would probably have been killed instantly. Instead the three monsters crowded in front of him, eager to greet their friend. Endogeny slowed, clearly confused, and Dream frantically reached out with his magic. 

Endogeny shook themselves and whined in distress. Reaper Bird said something in a soothing tone and the multitude of dogs seemed to calm down. Tail wagging slowly and flecking strange liquids from several orifices, it greeted the other Amalgamates before turning to Dream. 

Dream patted the Amalgamate, determinedly ignoring the way his hand was sucked down into the hound's dripping body. "Good dog," he praised warmly. "You feel better now?" 

Endogeny panted and wagged faster, which Dream took for a yes. He counted the Amalgamates off on his fingers. Reaper Bird, Mrs. Snowdrake, Lemon Bread, and now Endogeny. That only left the Memoryheads, but Dream had no idea how to go about tracking them down. He would need a phone from this world, first of all, but then…

...Mrs. Snowdrake was starting to wander off again. Before he did anything else, Dream needed to get these guys contained somehow. The sooner, the better. He was still boosting his aura to keep them calm and it was draining his energy with alarming speed. 

Dream walked after Mrs. Snowdrake and placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, blinking slowly. "This way," he said gently as he steered her back to the others. She meekly fell into line behind him and, after he'd managed to escape Endogeny's affection, Dream led the way towards the palace. 

He could _feel_ their trust in him and guilt welled up in his soul. The Amalgamates trusted him now, and he was leading them right back to their cages. He didn't know what else to do with them, and he _couldn't_ just leave them to their own devices, but the knowledge of what he was going to do still left a bad taste in his mouth. 

He glanced back at them. Reaper Bird and Lemon Bread were both speaking, although Dream couldn't tell whether they were talking to each other or themselves. Endogeny was trotting along happily, tail swinging widely and head held high. And Mrs. Snowdrake was creating little flurries of snow, amusing herself by watching the snowflakes fall to the ground and melt.

Dream sighed and looked away. There wasn't anything else to be done. If he let the Amalgamates wander off unsupervised, someone would attack them and soon they'd be right back where they started, except with even more monsters dead. He could theoretically take them to a different, kinder world, but that opened a whole new can of worms that Dream _did not_ have time to deal with. No, it was either the cages or the True Lab, and the cages were closer. 

It didn't take long to bring the odd little group to the palace, but once they got there Dream ran into a whole new problem: whoever had released the Amalgamates had been very thorough with it. The cages were destroyed and spread around the courtyard, the chains meticulously disassembled link by link. Even if Dream had the time and skill to repair it all, his energy was running dangerously low and he hadn't even encountered his brother yet. 

"Maybe I should go get Ink?" he wondered aloud. "I'd have to leave you guys here alone, but… it would be a lot easier to get these fixed with his help."

Reaper Bird burbled encouragingly and Endogeny whined for more pets. Dream sighed. He probably should gotten Ink _first_, along with Blue, but honestly he'd been in too much of a hurry to even think about it-

_Anger_. 

Dream tensed and turned, already knowing what he would see. His presence was unmistakable, radiating with power and malice. 

"I don't know who you are," thundered King Asgore, glaring down at Dream as he strode into view, "but you are a thief, a murderer, and a traitor to the kingdom. Those beasts are _mine_. Release your hold on them and maybe I'll kill you quickly."

Oh. This… was not going to end well. Dream swallowed and stepped back as the enraged monster came even closer, raising his hands in a pacifying gesture. "Sir, it isn't what it looks like," he said quickly. "I was trying to-"

"_I didn't ask for an excuse_." 

Dream poured all his magic into his aura, silently praying he could calm the seething king _before_ he was painfully murdered, but then his magic faltered and he stumbled. He was already exhausted from the strain of using his magic for a prolonged period of time, and not getting much sleep the night before _really_ wasn't helping.

Behind him the Amalgamates shifted restlessly. Asgore's grip on his trident tightened. "I don't know how you've entrapped them," he snarled, "but I will not hesitate to smear you into powder right now if you don't _stop_." 

Endogeny growled and started forward, but Dream thrust out a hand. Even with his aura almost gone, the Amalgamates seemed to like and respect him enough for Endogeny to obey the silent command. "I," he forced out, "am the _only_ reason they aren't tearing you to tiny shreds. Now _please_, back off, or I actually will lose control of them." 

_Please, listen to me. Leave. Please, please- _

Asgore stepped closer. "Are you threatening me?" he asked incredulously, leaning down. His breath smelled like rotten meat and Dream couldn't help flinching away from his massive fangs. "You DARE threaten the KING?" 

"N-no!" Dream squeaked, but his denial went unheard as the king brought his trident stabbing down. The guardian leapt out of the way and the weapon sank into the cracked stone of the courtyard. The Amalgamates started forward again, shrieking angrily, and Dream felt a flicker of hope. 

"HALT!" 

The Amalgamates froze. Endogeny whimpered softly, but made no other noise. Dream scrambled back out of the king's reach as quickly as he could. Asgore didn't even notice. 

"Alphys," he said with narrowed eyes. "Your timing is… convenient."

The lizard grinned. "I was w-watching the cameras and thought maybe you could use a hand. And I w-want my- I mean, _your_, pets back where t-th-they belong. That being said… _sit_." 

Mrs. Snowdrake was the first to obey, and the rest quickly followed. Reaper Bird cast a mournful look towards Dream, but they didn't dare help him now. Dream could feel the fear radiating off of all them, and he briefly wondered what kind of things Alphys had done to make _invincible_ monsters so afraid of her. 

Then Asgore laughed and started walking towards Dream, claws clicking against the stone and trident glowing murderous red, and Dream forgot about the Amalgamates' problems in favor of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh, maybe he should have brought the other Stars, after all. 
> 
> Also! I keep completely forgetting about mentioning it here, but I do have a Tumblr! I post a lot of art, as well as occasional headcanons or short drabbles that I don't post on Ao3. You can ask me questions there if you like- I love getting asks, although I don't get very many at all, and you can send in writing prompts if you like.  
https://dragonfruiteen.tumblr.com


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asgore doesn't really have a plan either, but then, does he need one?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, warning for violence and death... nothing TOO graphic, at least I'm pretty sure, but proceed with caution if you're sensitive to this kind of thing.

Dream had about five seconds to decide on a plan of action, and he lost three of them desperately trying to get his aura working again. When that clearly wasn't going to happen he decided to run. 

Asgore was a _lot_ faster than should be legal for a monster of his bulk. One moment Dream was actually hopeful of getting away, the next he had claws gripping the back of his coat and hot, damp, stinking breath clinging to his neck. 

Dream twisted out of his coat and started running again, but he had barely taken three steps when the trident slammed into his back. He hit the ground hard, ribs cracking as the heavy prongs slid through his ribcage and pinned him to the ground. He stifled a scream as the trident was yanked away, breaking another rib or two on the way out.

_Get up, he's going to kill you if you don't get up **come on-**_

The king of monsters laughed. The gleeful, almost childishly joyful sound was incredibly unnerving alongside his enraged glare and twisted snarl when he grabbed Dream by the neck and lifted him entirely off the ground. 

"I gave you a chance," he rumbled. "You didn't listen." And with that, he hurled Dream across the courtyard into the far wall. 

He heard and felt several things shatter when he hit and his vision went completely white with pain. He struggled to breathe, let alone get back up. He forced his sockets open and watched, dazed, as Asgore bore down on him. The king was moving quickly but not hurriedly. Dream was exhausted and badly injured, barely clinging to consciousness. He wasn't going anywhere- there was no reason to hurry. 

Asgore was almost on top of Dream when the bones appeared, bursting through the cracked stone and nearly skewering the king as they closed in around Dream. Thick and strong, they completely cut Asgore off from his would-be victim. The guardian blinked and tried to focus on the cage now protecting him. His thoughts were frustratingly slow, his mind numb. Those weren't his attacks, were they...? He didn't have enough magic for something like that. And his bone attacks weren't black, so these _couldn't_ be his. 

Asgore tossed his trident aside and tore at the bones with his claws, ignoring the pain that lanced through his arms and made his hands go numb when he touched them. _No one_ defied the king! Especially not some pathetic skeleton runt! 

"Stop whimpering and fight!" he roared. "Coward! First you run and then you hide! Get out here and fight properly!" 

"_Watch your mouth_," whispered a voice in his ear and the king whirled around, trident reappearing in his hands. No one was there. 

"Who was that?" he demanded. "Show yourself! Alphys-"

He stopped. Alphys was gone. Where she had stood was a stained and torn lab coat and a pile of dust. The Amalgamates crouched around her remains, staring at Asgore with undisguised hatred. They didn't attack, despite there no longer being anything to hold them back.

_Show no fear_. The King stepped forward. "I'll only say this one more time," he called out, flexing his massive, wickedly clawed hands. "_Come out and fight._" 

Laughter echoed from every corner of the courtyard. The Amalgamates grew more agitated and Endogeny howled. 

Asgore had never been one to let his imagination run away with him, but he felt sure the courtyard was getting darker with every passing moment. Something moved at the corner of his vision, a dancing snakelike shadow that vanished the moment he looked directly at it. 

He stared into the corner where he thought he'd seen it, hefting his trident in preparation to strike. Invisibility wasn't a monster ability he'd ever heard of before, but that didn't mean it didn't exist- 

Something slithered over the back of his neck and he spun, swinging his weapon wildly. Nothing. 

He was sweating now, and seriously considering the advisablility of a tactical retreat. Whatever was tormenting him now was definitely not the skeleton he had first attacked. A single glance confirmed that they were still huddled, helpless, behind someone else's magic. No, this was a new, unknown threat. Someone who had managed to kill Alphys before she had time to command the Amalgamates or warn her king, someone who was so fast that Asgore couldn't catch even a glimpse of them.

Lemon Bread chittered and crept closer. Relieved to finally have an enemy he could see, Asgore whirled on them with a shout. They flinched back, while Reaper Bird and Endogeny edged closer. 

Asgore's resolve faltered. He could and would fight any monster in the Underground. No one was stronger than he was, had killed as many, had his raw strength or LV… but the Amalgamates couldn't die. And while they didn't have the same festering, fearful hatred for him that they'd had for Alphys, they _definitely_ didn't like him. Didn't like anyone, really, except for that skeleton who had somehow managed to get on their good side, despite Asgore never having seen them near the Amalgamates before today. 

The reality of the situation finally hit him and fear, unfamiliar, choking terror wrapped around his soul. He stumbled back on clumsy paws, wielding the trident as a barrier between him and the Amalgamates, painfully aware that it wasn't any use. Endogeny snarled, crouched and Asgore tensed, readying himself for the attack- 

"_Heel._" 

The king bristled like a scared cat, that strange voice cutting straight to his frightened soul. The speaker was nowhere to be seen, but Endogeny obeyed the command without hesitation. 

Asgore risked a glance over his shoulder. If he could get into the castle and close the main doors, then maybe-

A dark figure stood behind him, shadowy tendrils curling lazily above his head. "Had enough?" he asked, white grin gleaming against the oily black of his bone. "Can't say I blame you... But I'm not going to let you off so easy." 

Asgore stepped back, heedless of the restless Amalgamates watching him. "Who are you?" he blustered, muzzle twisting in a snarl. The dark skeleton's grin widened. 

"Don't bother to try and hide your fear, I can _taste_ it. As for who I am…well, there's no time for introductions. They're getting impatient." 

Asgore hesitated, blinking in confusion. "What do you-"

"_Attack_." 

The Amalgamates howled and struck as one. For a few frantic seconds the king fought back, eyes flashing and trident striking over and over and over until it was torn from his grip. Then he fought with his teeth and his claws, desperately clinging to life until they tore his very soul from his body and ripped him to pieces. 

His dying screams were still echoing through the courtyard as Nightmare dispelled the bones with a wave of his hand and knelt beside his brother. 

"N...Night?" Dream croaked, his eyelights flickering weakly. "What…?" 

"Hush," Nightmare said gently. His eye flicked over the curled up form of his brother. His clothes were torn and bloodied, he clearly had several broken ribs- one was sticking out through a rip in his shirt- and the back of his skull had a nasty crack. Based on the way he was cradling his arm that was quite possibly broken as well, and there were undoubtedly other injuries that he couldn't see from here. 

He was surprised at how angry he was. 

Dream was _his_ brother. It was one thing for them to fight each other. Nightmare wasn't going to actually kill him, although they'd dealt each other some serious injuries in the past. Asgore? He had been _trying_ to kill Dream. Now he was dead and unable to hurt anyone, but Nightmare was still bursting with rage. It was with tremendous effort that he pushed that anger away and focused on his brother. 

Dream was surprisingly calm, given the situation. He watched with a minimal amount of suspicion as Nightmare examined his injuries. Yeah, that arm was definitely broken.

"...what are you doing?" he finally asked, voice weak. "Why…?" 

"...I don't know," Nightmare found himself answering. He was lying, at least in part. He wasn't sure what he was doing, or planning on doing, but he knew exactly why he was doing it. He wanted to protect his brother, who _obviously_ couldn't take care of himself given recent events. Even now, he was itching to gather him up and carry him back to the castle and care for him. 

He couldn't, though. Not again, not so soon. He needed… someone else. Someone else who was able and willing to help.

Blue. That was it. Take him to Blue. The swap could heal, certainly much better than anyone in the castle. Probably the only person better at healing was Dream himself, who wasn't an option for obvious reasons. 

"I'm taking you to Underswap," he said. "Blue will help, right?" 

Dream was clearly confused, but finally gave a single jerky nod. Nightmare reached down to pick him up, then paused. His own method of travel was extremely unpleasant for Dream, and right now was probably not a good time to subject him to it. At least, not while he was conscious. 

He rested a hand on his skull, careful to avoid the crack. "Go to sleep, okay?" he said quietly as he exerted his magic. This wasn't an ability he used very often, and it had never been as effective on Dream, but in his current state.. it wasn't long before Dream's breathing slowed and he went limp, unable to resist the soothing lull of his brother's magic. 

Nightmare gathered him into his arms and stood. He was already gathering his magic to leave, but a flicker of emotion caught his attention- _worry._ The Amalgamates had crept closer while he wasn't paying attention and now Reaper Bird was right next to him, staring at Dream and trilling with concern. 

Endogeny pressed close on his other side, nudging Dream's limp arm with surprising gentleness. When he didn't respond, they whined and looked at Nightmare. 

The dark skeleton was impatient to go- he needed to take Dream to Underswap and then get back here and find his gang- but he found himself reassuring the Amalgamates. They had tried to protect his brother, after all, and they'd been the ones to kill Asgore. They deserved to know Dream would be okay.

It took longer than he liked to appease them, but finally they backed off to let him leave. He checked to make sure Dream was still asleep, and then he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually thought about splitting this chapter into two, but it didn't end up working out so here you go! <s>I do not know how to keep chapter word counts consistent ugh</s>
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue should really know not to be surprised by anything anymore. What's next, Error dancing the polka on his roof?

Blue was having a Day. 

Papyrus had neglected to let him know when he borrowed (and subsequently broke) the alarm clock for an experiment, so of course he'd overslept. Then said experiment exploded, which meant Blue had to take his idiot of a brother over to Undyne to make sure he didn't have a concussion. Then he was _finally_ able to go explain to Alphys why he was late for their training session. She'd been understanding, but she _definitely_ hadn't been holding back when they finally started. Now he was sore in places he didn't even know he _had_.

After training he'd went to recalibrate the puzzles, and discovered that a snowstorm the night before had heavily damaged two of them. Fixing them was slow, frustrating work, and by the time he was done it was well past time for lunch. It was about then that he realized he hadn't had breakfast either. He decided to disregard the rest of his patrol in favor of eating something before he tore somebody's head off. And of course, the moment he opened the fridge he suddenly remembered he still had to go grocery shopping. 

When Nightmare showed up outside his door with an unconscious Dream, Blue wondered if he was going insane from stress, hunger, or possibly both. 

"No, I'm real," Nightmare said, and Blue realized he'd said that aloud. That didn't bode well for his mental state. 

Well, he decided to treat this as if it was really happening. He took a closer look at Nightmare and was surprised to realize the dark skeleton was nervous. Well, maybe that wasn't so surprising. If he was anything like Dream, he could probably sense what a bad mood Blue was in. 

Then he looked, really looked at Dream and everything else flew out the window. 

"Bring him in here, _now_," Blue snapped, opening the door wider to let Nightmare through. The dark skeleton obeyed almost meekly, setting Dream down on the couch when the swap said to do so and then stood by the window, looking extremely awkward. 

Blue wasted no time. Within five minutes of Nightmare's arrival he was mending the shattered bones back together. He had a lot of questions, ohhh yes he did, but they could wait. 

Nightmare waited just long enough to be sure that Blue knew what he was doing, which of course he did, how many years had he been doing this?

"I need to go," he said, causing Blue to look up sharply mid-healing. 

"Wait-" the swap started to say, but Nightmare was already gone. Blue sighed. First his brother, now the lord of negativity himself. Why did those with the power to teleport always choose to abuse it? He had questions, void-damn it!

Grumbling under his breath, he resumed healing. Hopefully Dream would be able to answer his questions when he woke up. The most important question was, who had hurt him so badly? Knives and tentacles didn't deal these sorts of wounds- Blue had seen enough of those to know. 

When he was more or less done he went to the kitchen and made a cup of tea, since there wasn't anything else to eat. He looked for food again, and then a third time just in case, but all he found was honey and half a leftover burger, which he refused to touch. He was a skeleton with standards, thank you very much. He thought about running out to get something at Muffet's- while not as healthy as his usual fare, her food at least tasted good- but he wasn't about to leave Dream alone for even a minute. 

By the time Dream finally woke up, Blue was on his third cup of tea. The guardian jerked awake with a soft cry, then stared blankly at his friend. He blinked a few times before he finally seemed to realize where he was. He glanced around the room, confused, and asked, "Where's Nightmare?"

"He left," Blue was quick to answer. "He brought you inside, and then he teleported away before I could ask any questions. So, now I'm going to ask them to you instead!" 

Dream groaned and prodded at his newly-healed ribs. Even on an empty stomach, Blue had done an excellent job. "I guess that's fair. What do you want to know?"

Blue stared at him. "How about you start with why your brother showed up on my doorstep with you almost dead in his arms? Why, who, when, where, how. The whole shebang, as convoluted as I'm sure it is," he said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. 

Dream grumbled a little, but finally Blue got the whole story from him. The Amalgamates, Asgore, Alphys… it was quite the tale. By the end of it Blue wasn't sure who he was more upset with: Asgore, or Dream. 

"Why," he said with deceptive calm, "didn't you come and get me? Or Ink? You _know_ you can't take on Nightmare by yourself, and apparently you can't take on a Fellverse Asgore either."

Dream winced and wouldn't meet his gaze. "...I was in a hurry," he offered weakly, knowing full well that Blue wouldn't accept the excuse. On a good day, maybe he would've let it slide, but today was most definitely not a good day.

"Dream, you keep doing this!" Blue shouted, all his bottled-up anger and worry finally coming to a head. "You don't let us know what's going on unless we're right there with you, and you keep getting hurt! This time it was Asgore, before that you were _sick_ and didn't say a word, and before _that_ you ran off to Echotale and came back with a shattered pelvis. I don't even remember what happened before then, but _you can't go on like this." _

Blue shut his mouth with an click and sat back, startled by his own outburst. He hadn't meant to start yelling, but it was so _frustrating-!_ And now he felt bad, because Dream was just sitting there in silence, staring down at his hands. The swap may not have been an empath, but he knew guilt when he saw it. 

"...sorry," he began, but Dream cut him off. 

"I should be apologizing, not you," he said. "You're right. I've been shutting you out. It's just… you've been so busy here. I don't like to bother you, or Ink either. I should be able to handle it on my own..." 

"Oh, Dream…" Blue leaned over and hugged his friend, careful of the just-healed injuries. Even though the actual wounds were gone, they would be sore for a while yet. "It is annoying to have to drop what I'm doing without warning," he admitted. "But it's not nearly as upsetting as you getting hurt is. I want to help you, but I can't unless you let me." 

Dream let out a sigh and slowly returned the hug. "...I'll try and be better," he promised. "Next time, I'll make sure you know _before_ I do anything stupid, not after."

It wasn't a perfect arrangement, not at all, but Blue accepted that it was the best he was likely to get. He let go of Dream but didn't go far- he had a feeling his friend could use some support. 

They were quiet for a few minutes, Dream leaning on Blue while the swap stared at the wall, deep in thought. Then, "Blue?" 

"Hm?" He glanced at the guardian. 

Dream shifted slightly. He looked thoughtful. "I think… things are changing," he said slowly. "I don't know what's going to happen, but… there's no way things are going to stay the same after all of… this."

Privately, Blue agreed. Before today, he would have said the chances of Nightmare helping Dream during a fight was in the negatives, but not only had the dark skeleton helped him, he had made sure the guardian would be okay by bringing him to Underswap so Blue could heal him. And, while he was there, he had been nothing but polite and respectful despite Blue's own foul temper.

Yes, things were changing. Whether it was for better or for worse… all they could do was wait and see. And while they waited? Blue was going to find something to _fucking_ eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of things I'm bad at: tagging things properly, writing what I'm supposed to write, editing what I've written, actually _posting_ what I've written- 
> 
> Anyway, this is actually the end of this installment! The next one should be significantly longer though, with a lot more fluff and shenanigans. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Whoo! I was hoping to get this out a lot sooner, but I had to rewrite this chapter so many times to try and find something I was happy with. But the boys are back! 
> 
> I'm hoping to update once a week, although if I can I'd like to update more often. My schedule is rather hectic, so we'll see how it goes.
> 
> And finally, I would like to note that this is NOT a Dreammare fic. I think there was a little confusion, so just to clarify, Dream and Nightmare do not and will not have romantic feelings for each other. Sorry if that disappoints anybody, but I just want to make that clear.


End file.
